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December 26, 2011

December Daily™ 2011 | Day Twenty-Three

First off, I hope you had a really lovely Christmas that was filled with lots and lots of twinkle lights. We had a really nice, quiet, low-key Christmas with a fire burning in the fireplace all day (something I love).

Over the next couple of days I'll be sharing the last few pages in my album. I know many of you are working on your albums as well. I hope we can continue to encourage each other to complete these albums and that you are finding joy in the process.

He had the kids for a couple days leading up to Christmas Eve and I asked if he'd be willing to share some words and photos about their time together for this album. I'm hoping to continue to include his voice in future projects that tell stories of our kids lives. He was willing and I was appreciative and Dropbox was useful for sharing the photos.

The first page of the spread includes three photos. I added chipboard letters to each of the photos (and added those same numbers to the jouranling on the next page).

For the journaling today I added it directly onto the background cardstock foundation page. I set up a new canvas in Photoshop and made it 5.5 x 6.75 (the size of the large space inside the overlay). I did a test print on regular paper and then temporarily adhered the foundation page onto the test print (I usually hold both up to a window to be able line up the pages correctly).

Here's what it looks like when it came out of the printer:

Some days throughout the month I just printed the journaling onto a new sheet of cardstock and adhered that to the foundation. It's all about what works best for you (and sometimes what's easiest one day is more complicated on another day).

And here's a look at the pages inside the album:

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42 thoughts

I love how you have Chris part of this. It's a great way of you learning about what they do and will be nice for them to look back at. I failed December Daily last year, did it this year but it was brutally simple, so I strive to get to the point of your story telling. It's so beautiful.

Love that you are able to include thoughts from their Dad. They will love that in the future I'm sure. Having a couple of days off my DD, knowing that I will not get too far behind now, as 25 will be my last day. So happy to have seen it through this year. :)

I don't comment a lot, but I had to say - I think this is great, Ali! A woman once asked me to make "baby books" for her two children - basically a scrabook for each using photos from birth to age 5.

She and her husband separated shortly after the youngest child turned five, but she wanted to make sure he was included in the albums as well, and did a great job of finding photos of the four of them, or of the kids with their dad, for me to use - note, the kids were entering high school when she asked me to do this.

When the albums were done, she loved them, and invited their dad to take a look... later he told her that he was very touched that she included him in their albums.

Chris is lucky; your kids are lucky - that you get it.

Have thought of you often - so many of us are quietly supporting you - I hope you can feel the energy.

This is such a positive aspect of the difficulties your family is going through. It doesn't have to be ugly, and the approach you and Chris are taking will benefit the kids greatly. Speaking as a child of divorced parents, they will be okay because of the way you are behaving now. I applaud you. Merry Christmas, and thank you for letting us join you on your December journey. Best wishes, Jennifer Langer.

What a wonderful thing to be able to include Chris' voice into this. The kids will love that later on.

I haven't commented on your last posts, a bit at a loss for something to say...

My son, only days apart in age from Anna, is almost 3 and I've been raising him on my own since before he was born. After about 1 1/2 years into his life, his dad wanted back into his life to get to know his son.
It was hard, I was hurt and I really wasn't looking forward to the emotional rollercoaster this was going to be. In fact, I am still not.
But my son deserves to know who his dad is. And he deserves to be loved.
And so, against all advice from people around me and inspite of the emotions I feel, I give them the opportunity to get to know and love each other.
His dad doesn't make it easy on me, but I try to be as graceful as I can be.

The situation you're in, I wouldn't wish on anyone. But seeing you handle it with the grace I hope to show myself... It keeps me on my toes and inspired.

It is not easy. Not at all. But we're doing the best we can. And we're doing a pretty good job too. I'm sure our kids will benefit from that, if not now than surely later on in life.

Reading your stories I am so proud of you, even if we hardly know each other. And that reminds me to be proud of myself too.

As Tracy stated above there are many of us quietly supporting you, I said a little prayer for you yesterday remembering how my Christmas (not as a family unit) felt the very first time. I always think back to the Christmas' that have gone by with a little bit of nostalgia, but as the children grow and the family dynamics change we now have new traditions of our own, and those are good too.
It may be sad and hard and different now, but your heart (and soul) will quietly heal.
Love and prayers to you.

As those above have stated, I am quietly supporting you too Ali. I continue to pray for each of you. As I read today's post I am so incredibly inspired by your grace and dignity. I am sure it is not easy. I keep remembering what you said when you shared publicly your separation, "that there is NOTHING easy about this". May you continue to stay strong. God's blessings.

You are an amazing woman! Your children will so love that you included their dad's voice in the memory keeping. I'm a child of divorced parents and so wish my parents handled it the way you are--with dignity & grace. Prayers to your family as you journey through this new adventure.

I can't really say much more than has been said above. This post, and your grace in handling a difficult life experience, brings tears to my eyes. May God bless you as you continue on your path. xoxoxo

As a child of divorced parents and as the wife of a divorce lawyer, I've seen lots of divorces up close and personal; it is seriously awesome for everyone when the parents continue to work together as parents. Yay for you all and I'm not suprised - you always seems to focus on the positive and on moving forward.

I'm looking forward to your One Little Word class at BPC - I just signed UP!

Hoping to finish my December Daily Album tonight. Thank you for this awesome project and the community you've created here.

Love how you have included Chris's voice in here too Ali. You really do walk the talk. Have loved all your December Daily pages and even though I decided not to do DD, you inspire me in many ways. Hugs to you as you embark on 2012.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as well as all of those who struggle with family issues. You are all so much stronger than I think I could be. God bless you all as you try and find the balance between self and family.

Love the comment about signing UP for OLW!! Still searching/waiting for my word but I think I'll sign UP because my first year participating in DD has been awesome. Still have some work to do but I am forever grateful for having gotten this holiday season down on paper with pictures and words. I've said it many times, but still feel I have not expressed it enough, thank you Ali!

Ali,
Lovely post and a reminder for me to include my kids father into the December Daily.
BTW... I am jealous of your fireplace. :)
Our old house had one but we currently have a gas one.
I really miss that old fireplace.

Ali-you inspire me. Our situation is different in that my husband was killed in an accident. Christmas time is very difficult at best. This year I made a Shutterfly book of all our special pictures with him-from babyhood on. There were tears, but there were smiles, too. Your spirit and grace has helped me move on and I appreciate you so much. Glad you had a peaceful and joyous Christmas. Love

for·ti·tude [fawr-ti-tood, -tyood] Show IPA
noun
mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously: Never once did her fortitude waver during that long illness.

love all of this Ali, so wonderful how you included it in the album. happy he wanted to tell a story for the kids. great way to include him in it. thank you for always showing the good and being positive even thru something this hard. hugs and prayers !!

I don't know how difficult it was for you to ask Chris for his input, but I find it really great that his thoughts are included on your DD. Great for the kids of course, but great for me as a reader because it provides another point of view and gives a more complete picture of your life. I know you focus on the positive side of things (and it's great) but it is also interesting to read the other side; the bickering/timeout/biting side which is also part of their story!